Season Passes

It’s that time of year again – the season pass dilemma. Specifically, which pass to get. In this area, the best deal going has always been the Snoqualmie (read Alpental) pass – when I was an undergrad it was something like $199 unlimited. These days, without the undergrad schedule, and with backcountry taking up my weekend skiing, I have been opting for the mid-week pass. It costs under 300 bucks and it gets me up a few nights a week to tool around on the bottom half of Alpental.

This year, the Summit went for a strange amalgam of pass options – instead of a mid-week pass, there is a nights only pass that works on Saturdays too but it basically means that for the entire season, you will never ski the top of Alpental (I like to pretend that once in awhile I will skip work and ski mid-week at Alpy, never happens but I like to pretend). Basically, kind of a bummer. So I went for the unlimited. I figured it was extra money but I could always ski a full day of backcountry on Saturday or Sunday and the other day jet up to Alpy for a few laps in the morning.

Then something magical happened (seriously, it was kind of magical). Boine USA Resorts (owner of Crystal Mountain) bought the Summit. All of the sudden, there were whispers of a synergy between the two mountains, a duel pass? deep discounts? Well yes, kind of. The Summit offered the Big S PLUS pass – unlimited at the Summit plus 5 days at Crystal over the season for $130. Considering Crystal’s day pass price went up to $58 this year, a pretty good deal. Then it got better – as an extra “reward” for those who bought their Big S passes early, the Summit lowered the Crystal upgrade to $80. Awesome. Done and done.

The Summit has always done skiers right. A few years ago, when most ski areas in the Western Cascades only managed to open for a few weeks, most folks lost a ton buying their season passes early (i.e. those who bought Stevens and Crystal passes). But the Summit, like water to wine, said “Boom, just use your pass next year.” It was some of the best PR they could do and put a silver lining on an otherwise bummer season.

The $80 Crystal upgrade was not quite in the same league but just shows why, despite lots to complain about, the Summit remains a skiers mountain (and I might even ski there on the weekend this year).